Conventional methods of inspecting a tire for acceptability of the position of a turned-up edge of a carcass using a transmission electromagnetic wave image taken by irradiating the tire with electromagnetic waves include a method of:
rotating the tire in the circumferential direction while irradiating the tire with X-rays from the inner circumferential surface side of the tire toward the tire, and
taking a transmission X-ray image of the tire via an image capture device disposed to the outer circumferential surface side of the tire. Additionally, the captured image is displayed on a display device, and an inspector visually determines the state of the belt cords and the like in the image displayed on the display device.
Another known tire inspection method (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H09-15172 A) includes:
taking a transmission X-ray image using an image capture device in a similar manner to that described above,
comparing the captured image with pre-stored reference data, and
determining the state of the belt cords and the like on the basis of the differences between the reference data and the captured image.
However, the inspection methods described above include an inspector visually determining the state of the belt cords and the like. As such, the accuracy of determination is difficult to improve, and means to reduce the time needed for the inspection are difficult to come by.
Furthermore, in the case of inspecting for acceptability of the position of a turned-up edge of a carcass, a steel chafer is disposed enclosing the turned-up portion. Thus, in the captured image, the edges of the steel chafer and the turned-up portion of the carcass are in close proximity to one another. Consequently, the turned-up edge of the carcass is difficult to distinguish via visual inspection by an inspector, leading to cases in which an extended period of time is needed for the inspection.